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Redalyc.Euroskepticism in European National Elections: the Rise Of Brazilian Political Science Review E-ISSN: 1981-3821 [email protected] Associação Brasileira de Ciência Política Brasil Tostes, Ana Paula Euroskepticism in European National Elections: The Rise of Voter Support for New Radical Right Parties Brazilian Political Science Review, vol. 5, núm. 1, 2011, pp. 77-104 Associação Brasileira de Ciência Política São Paulo, Brasil Available in: http://www.redalyc.org/articulo.oa?id=394341997004 How to cite Complete issue Scientific Information System More information about this article Network of Scientific Journals from Latin America, the Caribbean, Spain and Portugal Journal's homepage in redalyc.org Non-profit academic project, developed under the open access initiative brazilianpoliticalsciencereview ARTICLE Euroskepticism in European National Elections: The Rise of Voter Support for New Radical Right Parties Ana Paula Tostes Rio de Janeiro State University (UERJ), Brazil This article systematically investigates, in a comparative perspective, the support for new extreme right-wing political parties (ERPs) in national elections across the Western European Union countries (WEU). The objective of the research is not to explain why or how the ERPs platforms can be convincing and persuasive, but to describe conditions that contribute to identify when this has occurred. Since the reactionary nature of ERP discourse met the spreading phenomenon of Euroskepticism, a vote for ERP candidates and platforms is considered Euroskeptic voting behavior. Our hypothesis is that the greater the political power a member state enjoys in European Union institutions, the fewer the incentives for voters to support ERPs. To test this hypothesis, a great amount of data was organized and a set of econometric exercises was established using panel data with fixed effects. Given the intertemporal variation captured by the panel data with fixed effects, it is possible to assess the political conditions for the growth of electoral support for ERPs across the WEU as a function of three classes of variables: representative variables, economic variables, and variables of perception. The findings suggest that representation in European institutions has greater impact on ERP support than economic circumstances. Keywords: Extreme right-wing political parties; European elections; European Union; Euroskepticism. Introduction espectable scholars have presented theories about the emergence of a new extreme Rright-wing ideology (Ignazi 1996; 2003; Ignazi and Perrineau 2000; Ignazi and Ysmal 1992; Kitschelt and McGann 1995; Norris 2005) and explored the rise of the new extreme right political parties (ERPs) in Western European Union (WEU) countries, claiming that this phenomenon has taken place due to a shift in the political spectra in 77 bpsr Euroskepticism in European National Elections certain countries. However, there is no comprehensive and satisfactory explanation for the support for ERPs; instead, there are different focuses and different studies that often contradict each other (e.g., Kestilä and Söderlund 2007; Art 2007; Kestilä and Söderlund 2007; Rydgren 2004; Jackman and Volpert 1996). Arzheimer (2009a; 2009b) has demonstrated in different ways how complex it is to understand support for ERPs, also classified as “anti-system parties” and byproducts of “post-industrial” societies (Kitschelt and McGann 1995; Ignazi 1996; 2003; Poguntke and Scarrow 1996).1 The objective of the research is not to explain why or how the ERPs platforms can be convincing and persuasive, but to describe the conditions that contribute to identify when this has occurred. Since the reactionary nature of ERPs discourse met the spreading phenomenon of Euroskepticism, a vote for ERP candidates and platforms is considered Euroskeptic electoral behavior. Seeing European integration as an explanatory factor in domestic politics, the hypothesis is that the greater the political power a member state enjoys in European Union (EU) institutions, the fewer the incentives for voters to support ERPs in national elections. The vote for ERPs has been associated with immigration and identity matters. Therefore, identity can be a function of representation as well. Several researches have tried to measure the relationship between immigration, economic issues and unemployment growth, on the one hand, and xenophobic behavior, on the other; but less effort has gone into investigating representation as an explanatory factor of the attitude against the European integration. This does not mean that immigration should be ruled out as an issue that threatens cultural and national identities from the perspective of the new extreme right ideology but, rather, that representation may also be considered an important matter. This article suggests that the ERPs platforms somehow do not necessarily get more support in countries where the economy is under threat but, rather, in member states where national or local identity issues are not represented by the powerful leaders of the EU government. Moreover, this does not necessarily mean that the general electorate is aware of the balance of power of decision making in the EU, but merely that it is useful to look at political representation when identity matters. The article considers that the European integration affects the domestic arena as well as international relations between member states. European institutions have defined preferences because of the phenomenon of “social learning” (Checkel 2001a, 562-63). In other words, institutions, such as EU institutions, do matter, as one of their outcomes, “social learning”, changes interests and concerns. The constructivist literature is an important reference in shaping our argument (e.g., Radaelli 1995; 1997; 2004; Checkel 1998; Adler 2005; Risse 2000) because it focuses on the new, socially constructed European integration environment as providing European citizens with a new understanding of their interests, 78 (2011) 5 (1) 77 - 104 bpsr Ana Paula Tostes preferences, and choices. As a consequence, crucial aspects of the integration process – polity formation through rules and norms, the transformation of identities, the role of ideas and the uses of language – are thereby opened up to systematic inquiry (Christiansen, Jørgensen and Wiener 1999). Voters’ preferences on national identity that might be under threat by European policies are considered in national elections. Kitschelt (1992), Hooghe, Marks and Wilson (2002) and Hooghe and Marks (2004; 2006) emphasize the emergence of identity issues (such as security, commitment to national symbols, sovereignty, and defense of national identity) as fundamental in explaining voter choice in national elections in Europe. According to the authors, the non-economic and non-material left/right dimension is understood as a more powerful predictor of voters’ choices in the integrated Europe. Besides, the emergence of the renewed radical right as a new political actor calling for the safeguarding of new socio-cultural issues within the framework of the party system is likely to have consequences on the dynamics of this system. Hence, this research considers that resistance to European integration, the growth of Euroskepticism, and the European citizens’ choice to support the new extreme right-wing ideology are all related. In this context, the deficit of representation in the EU decision-making process seems to be an impacting variable to be investigated, especially because the role a member state plays in the regional policymaking process can be seen as a decisive factor in influencing opposition or a skeptic mood toward European reforms. The article is organized in two sections plus the results and conclusions. The first section discusses previous research on conceptual structures that inform specific problems addressed in the present study. The second section consists of a systematic examination of all national elections across Western European Union (WEU) member states. Economic, social and representative variables are tested in order to investigate the conditions of support for ERPs. Finally, the results suggest that the strength of a member state in decisive EU institutions is a significant variable in measuring support for ERPs in time series. In what Direction does the EU Matter? International politics and economic relations may be constrained by and may constrain the domestic foundations of international politics. Moreover, European disagreements and conflicts that were formerly played out in international relations are now negotiated in formal and informal meetings of the Council of Ministers, the Commission, and the European Parliament (EP) (Hooghe and Marks 2004). The multi-level game of European politics today has been the focus of important research, yet findings regarding the effects of EU institutions on national politics have varied widely (e.g., Putnam 1988; Keohane and 79 (2011) 5 (1) 77 - 104 bpsr Euroskepticism in European National Elections Milner 1996; Garrett and Lange 1995; Hix and Goetz 2000; Hix 1999). Also, different conclusions and views can be found about changes in political parties’ organization in different European countries as well as in the positioning of political parties regarding the European integration (e.g., Marks, Wilson and Ray 2002; Marks et al. 2006; Gabel 2000; Taggart 1998). The Europeanization debate focuses on linkage issues, notably the institutional arrangements that link national practices and policies to the EU. Betz (1993a; 1993b; 2002; 2003) and Kitschelt and McGann (1995) have
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